Seniors,

We are wrapping up 2nd seminar today and will be starting our 3rd next week. Be sure to bring your charged lap top from here on out as we will continue to work in Naviance and on college/job applications, scholarships, etc.

Our FIRST Instant Decision Day with Keuka College is on MONDAY!! There is still time to sign up if you are thinking that Keuka may be an option for you. Sign up here: https://www.bcsd.org/Page/2085

In case you were unable to attend last night's parent session, the powerpoint, is posted on the SENIOR INFORMATION PAGE OF THE BHS COUNSELING WEBSITE:

We look forward to seeing you in seminar and senior office hours!

Best,

BHS Counseling Office

(585) 242-5000 x4526

https://www.bcsd.org/domain/122

Our sources at SUNY say that an announcement will be made on MONDAY OCTOBER 2nd regarding FREE SUNY APP WEEK!

As soon as we get more information, we will be sure to send it along!!

While we wait - SUNY Brockport's application is currently FREE! If interested, fill out this form and you're good to go: https://www2.brockport.edu/info/ug-free-application/

This fall we will be offering Instant Decision days with 14 phenomenal institutions!

Students will have the chance to meet with an admissions representative and receive instant feedback on their application- most students will be informed of their admissions decision that day!

We will provide much more detail in Senior Seminar, but below are the general instructions. This is SUCH a great opportunity to learn more about what the college has to offer you and get some early feedback. Save the dates if you are interested!

If interested, please follow the instructions below:

1. Sign up for your 15 min admissions appointment with any of the institutions you are interested in.
2. If you haven't completed or submitted your application yet, THATS OK! Still sign up!
3. An admissions counselor will review your materials and could provide an admissions decision and estimate of your scholarship package that night! (some colleges may require a few additional days to process materials)
4. Please note- Geneseo is an ADMISSIONS INTERVIEW ONLY. This will be used as part of your application to be reviewed later. No decision will be made that this time. If interested in Geneseo, we highly recommend taking advantage of this.

Sign up here: https://www.bcsd.org/Page/2085

A few recommendations:

• Show up a few minutes early- you don’t want to be late!
• Wear appropriate attire- no need to dress up, but please look presentable. This is YOUR opportunity to show them who you are other than a name on a piece of paper!
• Come prepared with questions about the school- we are happy to help you with this.

If you have any questions about these opportunities, please contact Mrs. Stern!

ALL Senior Seminar materials can be found in the Career Center or you can view the electronic copies here on the Senior Information Page: https://www.bcsd.org/Page/2085

In Seminar 2, we created/updated Common App accounts, linked them to Naviance and learned to officially request teacher letters of recommendation through Naviance. Videos are posted on the Senior Page of the Counseling website if you need a refresher. We also talked about Registrar Deadlines and Blue Sheets.

**if you would like BHS to submit your test scores (SAT/ACT/AP):

• They are considered unofficial by the college if sent by us.
• If we send test scores to one common app school, they are sent to ALL common app schools.
• So, if you are thinking of sending scores to some but not all colleges, DO NOT HAVE BHS SEND YOUR TEST SCORES.
• If a college wants OFFICIAL SCORES- you will need to log into College Board and/or ACT and pay to have them sent to each college.

If you haven't written your college essay yet, there's still time! Sign up for the October BCSD Essay Writing course here: https://brightonschools.revtrak.net/

Stop in to Senior Office Hours or see your counselor if you need more help!

It's not too late to help! We would love to hear about your children through your eyes. If you have not done so already, please take a few minutes to complete the parent brag sheet. As counselors, we love to include your thoughts!

**LINK WILL BE CLOSED AS OF OCTOBER 6***

Parent brag sheet:

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=ZLm1_AgyPkeLzTMrIV6bE1FNnWpNYnRGluEgXgoFHwJUQzgzUVE2MVJDRU5PS1ZHMlpCQlk3STkxQS4u

Our friends from Nazareth College shared these great tips on how to prepare for the college financial aid process.

Most families agree: Filling out financial forms is not fun. But with these tips, you can save the families you're working with time + hassles.

1. A few days before the FAFSA form is released, set up the federal student aid (FSA) ID and the parent's federal student aid (FSA) ID online at https://www.fsaid.ed.gov.

2. Wait about a week after it opens before diving into the FAFSA. Each year brings a new set of circumstances. It can take a few days for FAFSA administrators to fix bugs and problems that don’t become evident until after it’s in use. Wait a bit and save some hassle.

3. Gather the paperwork beforehand:

• FAFSA & TAP Codes for your colleges
• For entering college in 2024: Household or parent’s 2021 tax return and W2s. ("Parent" is the custodial parent for the previous 12 months.)
• The student's 2021 tax returns and W2s
• Social security numbers
• Student’s driver’s license
• Bank statements, records of investments, records of untaxed income (e.g. child support, veteran’s non education benefits).Set aside an hour of quiet time to work on this.

4. Go to FAFSA.gov (it's free!); avoid FAFSA.com (FAFSA.com charges a fee).

5. BONUS TIME SAVER! The IRS data retrieval tool will link IRS records with the FAFSA form and automatically pre-fill parts of the FAFSA automatically, saving time and work. In order for it to work, however, the street address entered in the FAFSA must be a perfect match to how it was entered in the completed tax return.

6. Residents of New York State, should complete the TAP right after submitting the FAFSA by selecting the "complete your state application now" box. Doing it now, while in the mode, will save the hassle of having to log back in and do it later.

7. To avoid data common processing errors and delays:

• Don't leave spaces blank; fill in every answer, even if the answer is "0".
• Use the child's full name every time (e.g. "Samantha"), not nicknames (e.g. "Sam").
• Double check that social security numbers have been entered correctly.
• Save copies and make a note of the date forms or other correspondence is submitted. Always keep copies of tax return transcripts and W2's, too.

If you're confused, reach out to the colleges for help. Financial aid can be complicated, so it's best to ask the experts. Many of our area colleges are open to supporting you through this process, especially MCC. Don't forget to join us for our Financial Aid Night at BHS!

BHS Counselors will be available for SENIORS only to help support you with your post-secondary planning. We will be covering a lot in seminar, but we want to make sure you are well supported in this process. We are here to help!!

No sign up needed- just drop in to office hours whenever you are free. Stay for 5 minutes or stay for hours. This is a great opportunity to ask questions, work on applications with support or just a quiet place to work on your plans.

Please see the poster below for more info and times.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to your counselor. We hope to see you all soon!

College Reps are back at BHS this year!

Reps will be visiting in-person and virtually. Colleges have already begun to snag spots at BHS, so check Naviance regularly for our schedule.

• If a rep is in person, they will be in room 257 (the conference room across from the Counseling Office)
• If they are virtual, you will be able to access a link to their zoom via Naviance. You may come to the Counseling Office and we can help find you a quiet space to attend if needed.
• In person or virtual, you will need teacher permission to attend if the visit takes place during a class. Grab a pass from the counseling office.

You are welcome to sign up for as many visits as you'd like! We encourage you to sit in on the ones you know, as well as some that you've never heard of before. There are so many INCREDIBLE institutions all over the country with phenomenal opportunities. You just don't know about them yet!

We will list the next week's visits in the newsletter. Be sure to check out Naviance & the College Visits page on the BHS Counseling Website for a complete list of ALL visits this season. Check often- we get new visits scheduled every day!

SCAN OUR NEW QR CODE! These posters will be around school and will lead you directly to our College Visit Website. Check often and bookmark the page!

Fall College Fair at Nazareth University

• October 2, 6:30-8pm
• Optional campus tour at 5:30
• Register for tour here: https://apply.naz.edu/register/?id=1e80db97-0ec7-42ba-a5e9-48dbc20bb2cb

College & Career Fair - Jobs, Vocational Training, Colleges & Universities

• October 10, 10am-5pm
• Blue Cross Arena

WNY Consortium of Higher Education - BHS ATRIUM!!

• November 3, 2nd Period
• 21 Colleges & Universities will be here to chat with you! Check them out: https://www.wnycollegeconnection.com/

Find the College for You at NACAC Virtual College Fairs

• https://www.nacacattend.org/fairs/virtual-fairs

Ways to get "on campus"

Although you may not be able to physically get on campus, there are great opportunities to take a virtual trip! Check out these resources:

• Individual college websites
• Naviance (many of the colleges have videos and interactive information posted there)
• www.campusreel.org - over 15,000 real videos, tours and experiences from 300+ college campuses, created by current students
• Thanks to an incredible colleague in a College Admissions Counselor group who put together this working excel file. Including demographic data from College Board, she lists colleges in the US and Canada who offer virtual tours, youtube channels, etc. UK coming soon! https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1sO7pVos0EvK0BvXoMbnyg00K6r7hXbOQE0HNXF4N4eM/htmlview

As you'll learn in Senior Seminar, we need 15 SCHOOL DAYS to process your application materials to ensure they are submitted by the deadline. This means you need to be ahead of the game and must have your applications submitted at least 10 SCHOOL DAYS prior to the actual application deadline. More details to come in seminar.

Check out the Registrar deadlines- based on the college/job/scholarship deadlines, the dates below are when your application is DUE TO THE REGISTRARS OFFICE.

BHS Standardized Exams being offered this fall:

SAT

October 7

November 4

ACT

October 28

If you have questions specific to BHS testing procedures, please reach out to Deirdre Carter: deirdre_carter@bcsd.org. As things are changing so often, please refer to the testing sites for updated information:

ACT- www.actstudent.org

SAT- www.collegeboard.org

Email: courtney_stern@bcsd.org
Website: https://www.bcsd.org/Page/2063
Location: 1150 South Winton Road, Rochester, NY, USA
Phone: (585) 242-5000